The LOng RAnge Navigation (LORAN) system was developed in the United States during World War II. Subsequent implementations provided for enhancements in accuracy and usefulness, including LORAN-C and later enhanced LORAN (eLORAN) implementations. The eLORAN system is a low frequency radio navigation system that operates in the frequency band of 90 to 110 kHz and includes transmissions that propagate by ground wave. The eLORAN system transmits LORAN type navigation RF pulses at a center frequency of about 100 kHz and differs from LORAN-C because eLORAN transmissions are synchronized to the UTC similar to GPS, and include time-of-transmission control, differential corrections similar to differential GPS, the use of “all-in-view” tracking, and one or more eLORAN data channels that provide low-rate data messaging, differential corrections, and almanac information.
With the rise of satellite-based navigation systems such as Global Positioning System (GPS), there has been relatively little development or investment in terrestrial-based navigation systems, such as the eLORAN system, until recently. A renewed interest in such systems has arisen as a backup to satellite based navigation and timing systems, particularly since low frequency eLORAN signals are less susceptible to jamming or spoofing compared to the relatively higher frequency and lower powered GPS signals.
The bandwidth limited eLORAN data channel is about a fifty to one hundred bits per second data channel. It carries both time perishable and non-perishable data messages to the end user for proper eLORAN system function, but it is relatively slow and results in low data throughput rates. This eLORAN data channel provides multiple messages to the end user to support eLORAN accuracy, integrity, and availability requirements. These messages transmitted along the eLORAN data channel may include UTC time-of-day, differential corrections, system almanac information, broadcast messages, receiver command control and encryption keys, if applicable. Because of the requirement to prioritize on the eLORAN data channel the transmission of time critical messages, such as differential corrections, other message sets, such as the system almanac information, may take several hours to transmit in their entirety. There is, therefore, a need for further developments in the eLORAN system in certain applications to overcome these drawbacks.